Raven Concealment Phantom holster

[CplHicks]

Raven Concealment Phantom Review

 

Let me start by saying yes the holster is pink. Bright pink. I chose this colour as I felt i'd seen to many black or coyote holsters. I wanted something different, something that would stand out from all the other holsters.

 

I'd been looking for a Kydex type holster for my 1911/Kimber Warrior and Surefire X200, i'd previously used a Personal Security Systems holster for my Glock 17 and X200. It was good. But I wanted something different.

 

I'd seen the Raven Concealment holsters used in the Magpul Dynamic Handgun dvd and read several reviews about them on various real steel forums. I looked further and ended up ordering the holster you see here.

 

The reason I chose a belt mounted type holsters instead of that of a drop leg type is that I find that the drop legs tend to ride down my leg taking my trousers with it. It depends on where I play as to whether I run a full belt line. So mounting the drop leg on there was an option but when used with suspenders to balance the wieght I found it put a lot of strain on my shoulder which isnt in the best of ways.

 

Anyways back to the Raven holster. There are plenty of different handgun models to choose from with even more different weapon light if you wish to have that option. My holster was built to the following specs

• 
  1911 Railed frame
  
• 
  Surefire X200b
  

• 
  Left Hand draw
  
• 
  MD Cut (more about this later)
  
• 
  1.5in belt loops
  
• 
  Pink kydex
  

The only downside is that there is a 16-18 week lead time on the holsters. Although on some models there is a 45 day wait.

 

Once I'd placed the order I realised that I needed to make few changes to my order and the customer service from the RCS team is second to none.

 

As for the price its $84.99 for the Phantom Light carrying holster, then $15 for the pink kydex and finally $25 shipping to the UK.

 

As I mentioned earlier about the different cut options, I chose the MD cut which is a 0 degree cant with a reduced body shield. Raven offer more cuts and will happily make and custom combination to suit each user.

 

Once the holster was shipped it arrived on my doorstep in little over 10 days so this was a plus.

 

Now on to the usage in game.

 

The holster is setup for OWB (outside waist band) with the 1.5inch belt loops which are a perfect size for my Ares Gear ranger belt. Its quite a low profile holster. Which is a good thing as I have no issues when I use it along with my Warrior Assault Systems DCS plate carrier. It's easy to draw from wearing the plate carrier too.

 

With the holster being made from 0.9mm Kydex its quite thin and form fitting to my hip. I wear it half way between my 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock on my left side. I have no problems running with the holster or kneeling or crouching. It doesn't dig into my thigh and that once my belt is tightened up to that which I feel comfortable with, there is no movement upwards when drawing or downwards when reholstering the pistol.

 

All of the holsters retention is on the weapon light or the trigger guard area for the pistols that don't have a weapon lights. The draw is literally establishing a grip on the pistol then pulling upwards. There's no fancy serpa release buttons or safariland style rotating hoods. Re-holstering the the pistol is just pushing into the holster and theres an audible click to let you know the pistol is safe. Two things I found is that with me being on the larger side, I always checked to make sure the holster was clear of any clothing and that when I move sometimes I could disengage the saftey. This wouldn't happen if i'd of had the standard body shield as the kydex would cover the safety lever on the pistol.

 

 

More pics when soon.

[CplHicks]

[Mr Foxhound]

Great review. I love these holsters. Really well made. For sure worth the wait for a quality product like this.

 

Anyone with a Tokyo Mauri Glock 17 make sure to get the holster made for the Glock 20/21. I got the Glock 17/22 RCLS holster and the TM Glock 17 did NOT fit AT ALL in the Glock 17/22 holster. So I had double the wait time to swap it out for the other. (I also had a great customer service experience when returning it for the right one) I

 

The TM Glock 17 fits great in the Glock 20/21 holster. Great retention with a smooth draw. For those wondering what the Coyote Color looks like heres and example.

 

Glock 20/21 holster in Coyote with MD cut, With TM Glock 17 inside

Edited April 18, 2012 by Mr Foxhound

[elanaiba]

Mr Foxhound, what belt is that?

 

Also... how do you rate the retention on this holster? Would you go LRRP, roll around in the mud, climb some rocks and still keep the pistol with you?

[CplHicks]

By the looks of it, I'd say thats a VTAC/TYR Tactical Brokos belt.

 

I've used mine at my local site, Anzio Camp in the UK, and been climbing through windows and crawling around in the under growth with no issues as of yet. Besides the facts its bright pink.